Someone for Everyone
by LaptopWriter22
Summary: "Somewhere, there is someone just for you. You've likely also noticed that there is someone who would like you just for them. There is also someone that you love. When will those factors come together into a romance? Only time can tell, but the legend still stands that there is someone for everyone." Just a few different chocolate Mabel pairings strung together in my spare moments.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello. I was thinking the other day about how there were no pairings for Gravity Falls' main girl that I particularly liked, and that idea combined with boredom in the short moments of the day when I had nothing to do brought this idea. I scribbled down a couple of one-shot pairings involving Mabel, and thought, why not put it up here since I have them? I don't really care too much for any of the pairings I experimented with, but it was interesting to write these.**_

* * *

_1. A day Like Today __(MabelxRobbie)_

He stood awkwardly in front of the mirror as if he wasn't used to viewing his own face, adjusting the last article of clothing he would normally ever wear, a tie. He was nervous; a mental wreck, in fact, and his palms were sweaty. That was no surprise to him; he was, however, bewildered that he liked the feeling. Scared beyond all reason was never an emotion that Robbie Veretti was proud to admit he felt.

But on a day like today, it was only right to be frightened. Robbie rested his hands on the dresser in front of him, acutely aware of the adrenaline rushing through his veins. He attempted a series, of slow, deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves.

A door to his left opened a crack, and a red haired girl poked her head through. Seeing Robbie, she smiled and whistled through her fingers to get his attention. "Hey, dork. Nervous?" she asked.

Robbie turned toward her and nodded. "Yeah. I just know I'll mess up in front of everyone," he replied ruefully, shaking his head. He glanced back toward Wendy. "You?"

Wendy flashed a confident smile. "I'm just ready for this thing to be over. I'm sick of planning for it." Her smile widened. "Besides, there's a certain someone I can't wait to take on honeymoon. For once, I'm going to make sure he has the time of his life, Robbie."

Robbie smiled as well, but the old twinge of guilt nagged at him as he looked at his old friend. "Well, the geek deserves it," he murmured. "I hope he finally does relax a little; he's had enough stress for one life."

"Yeah, especially after dealing with you," Wendy said. Robbie remained silent, and the redhead softened her tone.

"I guess it's pretty jerky to call you out on our big day," she relented. "I know Dipper's problems were far from all your fault." Both Robbie and Wendy grew quiet, recollecting the years before. There had been so much change that even the carefree teenagers they had been hadn't been able to keep up with it. The good times and the tears had long since intermixed in their memories, making thinking back a bittersweet experience.

Robbie's clearest memory was the summer of 2013. The tragic ending to the Pines twin's vacation was still burned vividly into his mind, and would be forever. But then, everyone in Gravity Falls still had nightmares about that summer.

The twins had been almost killed in their brave attempts to manage a futuristic weapon that their great uncle had activated much too soon. Bill Cipher had arrived in all his fury. There had been a terrible battle. Bill threw everything he had at that weapon, but Dipper and Mabel Pines warded him off. Those kids risked everything for Robbie's hometown, including their lives. No one else had come near Bill. Robbie hadn't. He had run like a coward.

Somewhere between a rush to the nearest hospital, which was miles away from Gravity Falls, and a desperate search through three red books, the twins had survived. Bill had tried to destroy the entire town, but most of the citizens escaped with only a few bruises. Wendy had been badly injured trying to help the twins, so Robbie had stolen into the hospital to try to see her. Looking in through the glass windows at Wendy and Dipper in their hospital beds, Robbie had realized that there were problems besides his own to become caught up in.

The way he'd felt looking at little Mabel Pines in another hospital room away from the others had caught him off guard. For Dipper and Wendy, he'd felt a deep-rooted horror and dismay. Mabel, lying there with her pale face and brown hair smeared with blood had prompted a sharp shock and disbelief within Robbie. He'd guessed it was because she was so quiet. It didn't seem right for Mabel to be quiet.

He'd tried to shake the memory, but as life went on in Gravity Falls for two more years, he found himself wondering more and more about the twins. The town still held a festival in their honor every summer, and their great uncle drew more business to his shack that way. Robbie didn't admit it, but as the town gossips speculated about the young heroes, he began to wish they'd return. He just wanted to be sure they were all right.

Those next summers were hot and lonely. Robbie gradually stopped chasing Wendy, and in return, she allowed him to be her friend. They got along pretty well, bonding through their wish for Mabel and Dipper to come back down to Gravity Falls. Wendy openly expressed her liking for the twins and would sometimes let Robbie in on any news they sent from Piedmont.

Then, that bright summer of 2015 had come, the bus had pulled up, and the twins tumbled out of it. Dipper was taller, even more wary of the woods, and very protective of his sister. Mabel had survived Bill's attack mentally unscathed, as far as Robbie could tell. He had begun to study her as soon as she left the bus, trying to determine if she was the same. She could tell, too.

"What are you staring at?" she'd demanded, eyeing him coolly. To his chagrin, something totally unrelated had come out of his mouth.

"You were so young then," he'd blurted. Mabel, usually so giggly and full of smiles, had raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. Well, now I'm old enough to ride a bus myself," she returned, and walked away with Dipper. Robbie had stared after her, open-mouthed. So Mabel had changed after all, though not as obviously as Dipper. The happy-go-lucky attitude had been replaced with a cool, quick wit and a readiness to put up a fight. She could take care of herself.

Robbie liked a girl who could take care of herself, and Wendy liked distracting an overprotective Dipper when her former boyfriend came to see Mabel. That was all it was, at first. Wendy had made a deal with Robbie for cold hard cash to keep Dipper away from what was soon a slow, sweet romance. Soon enough, everything changed. Soon enough, the two older teens had to meet at one of their old party spots to earnestly discuss dating people three years younger than they were.

They'd discussed it all through four subsequent summers, until Robbie and Dipper had gotten around to proposing. Wendy had said yes to Dipper, Mabel had pretended to think about it before joyously accepting, and a double wedding had been planned for June 18th. That day had finally come.

Stan Pines pushed a door open, interrupting Robbie's reverie. "Hey, Robbie, Dipper! They're ready for you up there," he hissed. Wendy ducked back into her room as Dipper raced out the door. He was ringing his hands and looking wildly in all directions. Stan held him back. "Not so fast, kid," he muttered.

Robbie grinned as he took his place beside Dipper. "And I thought I was nervous," he whispered to his former rival.

Dipper glared at Robbie. "I never thought I'd be standing next to you, watching you marry my sister," he observed.

Robbie rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "Well, after you stole my girlfriend, the least you could do is give me your sister," he returned. Dipper sighed, half-smiling in spite of himself. Then, the two young men turned their attention to the front of the church and the aisles they'd walk down, followed later by their brides. Robbie straightened his shoulders and took a step forward to the music.

It was time.

* * *

_**So, yeah; MabelxRobbie with a side of Wendipper. I do ship Wendipper :D. Do you want this to continue? I've got a MaBill that I'll put up if you like, and if you want to see Mabel with any guy, you could drop me a name in a review. I'll write most any guy (NOTE: Don't even bother requesting Dipper; I will not be writing Pinecest). Oh, and don't worry about my other Gravity Falls story; I'll be working on that now that my other fandom has been updated.**_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


	2. Chapter 2

_2. That Easy __(MaBill)_

* * *

"What are you thinking?"

The simple question wafted through the air from the oversized blue rocking chair that hung suspended halfway off the ground. The raven haired man in the bright yellow suit turned to the woman sandwiched between him and the arm of the chair with a far-off smile.

A smile. He still wasn't quite used to facial expressions yet; having a bowtie for a mouth hadn't allowed him many facial muscles. He had mastered the way to smile quickly, though. Watching her long enough, it was easy. She never stopped smiling.

"Explain to me again about dying, Shooting Star," he got back to her question, staring down at the brown head on his shoulder with all his might. She raised her head, a hundred sparkles flickering and snapping in her chocolate brown eyes.

"I told you, Bill, you don't have to worry about that for years and years," she said. He laughed hollowly.

"Years and years were days and days to me just a…month ago," he reminded her, pausing to think of the right unit of time. Bill never had to keep track of such small measures of time before. Decades were usually the smallest spaces of time he noticed, normally because the people he watched all looked a little older.

Now, it seemed that his precious time-his moments with her-were slipping through his fingers. If there were only a way to catch them, make them stay. He knew there was no way; he'd known when he made his choice to stay with the girl called Mabel.

Did he regret it? He knew that answer with certainty whenever he thought of a lifetime growing old alongside Shooting Star. Never. Never once.

"We have many, many years ahead of us," Mabel said matter-of-factly. "Sixty, seventy; no one can really tell, Bill."

He nodded, knowing the answer before she explained it yet again. Ah, well. Now that he had lived as a mortal for about a month, he was starting to think like one. Soon, he would be well-adapted. Soon, even Pine Tree would stop eyeing him threateningly, and he would obtain one thing a mind demon could never have: A loving, complete, supportive family.

He was happy. He had never known so many things: Pain, sorrow, grief, sadness, or happiness. Maybe it paid to be a failure. He glanced down at his Shooting Star and pulled her more securely into his lap.

"Was it that easy?" he whispered suddenly. Mabel settled against him, her hair falling across his yellow jacket.

"What?" she muttered, her face buried in his lapel. Bill stroked her hair absentmindedly.

"Becoming who I am now," he answered. Mabel looked up, and their eyes met. _Yes_, they were thinking._ It was easy, in the end._

Summer after summer, the battles had raged. Bill Cipher had begun to look forward to the Mystery Twins' arrival and always had something special prepared. The mind demon's attacks became more and more bizarre. Then, one day, he looked at Shooting Star and realized with a jolt that she was a woman.

He remembered going back to the dreamscape and searching through the mirrors of time, watching the moments of Shooting Star's life that he had missed. The little girl moments of kittens and sparkles slowly giving way to a teenager's determination and popularity startled him. He hadn't watched the twins when they'd gone back each summer. He knew nothing of this thing called _school_. The bitterness, the backstabbing, and the heartbreak that the girl went through without batting an eye impressed him, in a way. He was actually proud of Shooting Star.

With that foreign feeling came the knowledge that something was wrong in his own mind. He gathered his powers and returned to Gravity Falls with a vengeance, showing off in very dangerous ways without a care. Everyone was powerless to stop him. The emotions within him felt like a threat; he had merely been standing up to the voices that whispered that he was weakening.

Her voice had cut through his orange oblivion. "Bill! What's _possessed_ you?" He had floated upright, tired, annoyed, and relieved at the same time that she had been able to stop him. He had no answer to her question.

"I don't know, Shooting Star," he'd mumbled before disappearing to the eyes of mortals. He went home and thought it over for a while. Still coming to no obvious conclusion, he returned to Gravity Falls a few more times. But his appearances were harmless. They were pranks; silly jokes, and they were all aimed toward Mabel.

It went on for a few months until she screamed at him for causing her yarn to unravel every time she tried to knit a sweater. Dipper had chimed in; "This is beneath you, isn't it, Bill?" Bill looked at them, all of them, the old man, the boy, and the angry young girl. She stared back, and slowly, he realized that he didn't want to cause them harm. He wanted to be a part of them; a part of her.

The clandestine, hopeful meetings in the woods began soon afterward, with Bill thanking the stars that the girl he wanted was just whimsical enough to give him a chance. She was nervous at first, claiming she only came to see him because she was afraid of him. He knew that wasn't true. She was too scatterbrained to be really afraid of anything. She cautiously shared her little secrets with him as he proved himself trustworthy enough to hear them. As time went by faster than he realized, he made a choice.

It was quite easy to become a mortal; in fact, mind demons used the human form for punishment when one of their kind went astray. The spell was known to all the mind demons because none of them would logically want to use it. To willingly trade an immortal, all-powerful life for one of sweat, bone, marrow, and pain was unheard of.

Bill went through with it. She painlessly persuaded him to go through with it. The act proved to her family that he was serious about this unlikely romance. The young man with the eye patch and tall, clumsy figure that emerged from a cipher's ashes had earned the right to marry his beloved. Everyone had grudgingly agreed to that.

A month later, here they were, melted into one another in that old chair with blue cushions that was hanging from the ceiling. Bill still knew the ancient magic and could still perform minor spells such as levitation. The more important actions, such as toying with men's destinies, were forever gone, however. After all, he was a human himself now.

It had been so simple to let go. With her love giving him the will and the desire to put the horrors he toyed with aside, he was surprised at how effortless the transformation had been. She had saved everyone, as far as he was concerned; if it hadn't been for her, he would have killed everyone in that sleepy town sooner or later, just like any other place unlucky enough to be located near a mind demon. Now, the citizens lived in peace, the paranormal beasts were nearly gone from the woods, and the ghosts had finally been able to leave. Even the town psychic, who had been Bill's minion ever since he stumbled upon a red book as a mere child, was free now to live a normal life. Last Bill had heard, he was working honestly and showing a certain disillusioned rich blond how to live while relearning the concept himself.

Everyone was better off. Everyone had new hope, including Bill himself. Bill smiled at his wife and leaned down to kiss her. And there it was. No more words were needed. It was all that easy, in the end.

* * *

_**Yes, I know; in all the MaBill pairings I've read over, Bill stays immortal. However, that's a little creepy-sad, considering Mabel isn't immortal, and I don't think there's a law that says he can't have our lifespan. I just realized something, btw. If that "futuristic weapon" at the end of season one is used in different ways, Mabel could end up with many different people. Just tilt the globe any way you want to, and…**_

_**Ugh. I'm overthinking this; one of my favorite things to do :D. Anyway, until next time: **_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


	3. Chapter 3

_3. A Pebble in an Ocean (MabelxMermando)_

* * *

Mabel Pines set her suitcase down on the dock and turned back for a last look at the Atlantic Ocean. She had to admit, that week-long cruise had been impressive. Not much impressed the young, cynical socialite anymore.

Mabel was twenty-three, eligible, outwardly charming, and rich beyond imagination from her brother's many successful digs overseas. Dipper Pines had become quite a famous archaeologist after his experience in a certain childhood vacation spot. Now, he was all too willing to spoil his twin sister with his wealth. Truth be told, Dipper wasn't quite sure what else to do with the money. This particular week, Mabel was supposed to meet her brother and fly home to California after her cruise was over.

The Florida skyline ahead of her looked inviting, but Mabel wasn't quite finished with the ocean behind her yet. Taking off her shoulder bag, she unzipped a side pocket and turned the bag over, dumping a single smooth white stone out into her hand. For a moment, a wistful expression crossed the usually indifferent girl's face, and her hand curled around the last pebble.

_'Dear Mabel, I am sorry I have not written to you for a few weeks. My family keeps me quite busy now. I owe our reunion all to you. I have grown rather lonely for you, so in this bottle, I leave a special gift. In the bottom of the bottle, you will find eleven tiny pebbles. If you take them wherever you go and drop one stone into a different lake, ocean, or river each year, we will be fated to meet again wherever the last pebble drops. It really is true! Our tales tell of it.'_

Mabel shook her head with a skeptic smile. She could still hear the heavy accent in her imagination. She was beginning to wonder if that was the only place Mermando had ever existed. Even there, he had long since faded away; the only reason she was thinking about him now was that today was the anniversary of the last bottle she had ever received.

After all, she couldn't keep contact with mythical creatures after she had promised not to mention them again. After helping his great uncle unlock the ultimate secret to all things unknown back in Gravity Falls, Dipper had nearly gone insane with the knowledge opened to him. More powerful than even a mind demon, he almost swept Gravity Falls into oblivion with his newfound power. When he came to himself, he was horrified at what he had done and broke the spell he had worked so hard to unleash.

To protect the town, Dipper had sworn Mabel to secrecy and never talked of Gravity Falls again except as a normal, sleepy Oregon town. He had solved the mysteries in one fell swoop, and discovered that some things were better left unearthed. All Mabel had discovered was that she missed the mysteries and Dipper's old enthusiasm. As he used his expertise on historical finds, Mabel wondered if the mysteries had been real. She'd brought it up to Dipper in private once.

"It's like they were all just dreams, Dip," she'd said sadly. "All those childhood memories-were they real? The merman and the gnomes and the ghosts all seem like hazy, silly children's play now."

"They are," Dipper had replied tersely before returning to his maps.

Mabel took one last look at the white stone in her hand. Perhaps she shouldn't let it go. She didn't want the disappointment of Mermando not showing up; it compared to going back as an adult and rereading an old fairytale one truly believed in as a child. Maybe she would save the stone as a keepsake.

Almost of its own free will, the pebble dropped from Mabel's hand into the water. Mabel stared after it, shrugged after a few seconds, and started to walk away. There was no use in staying around now. Searching for a pebble in an ocean was ridiculous, but she probably had a better chance of finding the pebble than finding Mermando.

"Mabel?" a quiet, urgent voice called. With a slight gasp, Mabel turned to see a dark-skinned Spanish merman hanging on the dock.

"Mermando?" Mabel queried, bending down to look at him. "What on earth are you doing here? This is a harbor, for heaven's sake! You'll be caught!"

Mermando shrugged. "I live an adventurous life now that I have grown up," he replied easily. "Right now, I am swimming the Atlantic, searching for adventure."

Mabel smiled. "And you just happened to be here right when the last pebble fell."

"I told you, it was fated to come true," Mermando insisted. "It is engraved in our legends."

Mabel could only stand on the dock, beaming down at him. With one meeting, an entire summer had returned to her. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you," she cried.

Mermando looked a bit uncomfortable. "You are?" he asked. "I am glad to see you also, but…"

Mabel brushed the obvious aside. "I know, I know," she conceded. "Merman-human-I get it. We still have a bit of a problem, here. It's just that I almost stopped believing you were real."

Mermando nodded sympathetically. "I know," he said. "Maybe that is why we had to meet again; to renew our belief in each other."

"I think it's enough to know that you exist," Mabel murmured. "And that I really did have that first kiss."

"Exactly." Mermando started to say something else, but a fisherman spotted him at that moment, and he plunged back into the water. "I must run. The life of an explorer is even more perilous when you happen to be a merman. I must leave you, dear Mabel. Until we meet again!" With that, he swam off as fast as he could.

Mabel watched him disappear and then walked slowly to the place where she and Dipper were supposed to meet. He was waiting there when she arrived.

"Sorry, Dipper," Mabel greeted him. "I got held up."

"That's okay, sis. What happened on your cruise? Anything exciting?" Dipper innocently inquired. Mabel giggled.

"Dipper, you know that thing we're not supposed to talk about?" she asked. Dipper stiffened.

"What about it?"

Mabel linked her arm through her brother's. "It's still out there," she told him. "It's still perfectly fine. Everything's fine."

"How do you know?" Dipper questioned softly. For answer, Mabel simply held out her empty shoulder bag.

"It came true?" Dipper peered inside the bag.

"It came true," Mabel confirmed. Dipper whistled softly.

"What are the chances?" he muttered.

"About as good as finding a white pebble in the ocean," Mabel responded.

They kept walking until the ocean was almost lost from view. Both of them looked back once. A silvery laugh from one of the twins wafted back toward the harbor.

"He was your first kiss, you know."

"Mabel, come on…"

* * *

_**Ah, the MabelxMermando ship. How did I know someone was going to ask me to write that one :D? I hope I did all right with this one; it took a while to think of something involving a human and a merman. There's a "Little Mermaid" joke in there somewhere, but it just won't…come to mind…**_

_**Well, I'm proud to check that ship off the list as one I've written. Someone asked me for a more romantic Mobbie one-shot, (and gave me the correct pairing name), so that'll be next.**_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Here I go with an attempt at something "more romantic" for Mabel and Robbie. Be forewarned, though, I'm not too good at fluffy romance. I added a little more spark, however, and more interaction between the two.**_

* * *

_4. It was Only a Guess (Mobbie)_

"Truth or dare, Thompson?" The unfortunate teenager glanced around at his friends.

"Come on, dude, make up your mind," Wendy Corduroy instructed calmly, flicking a peanut shell out the window. Robbie and Mabel snorted at the same time, glanced at each other, and quickly looked away. A brunette with her hair in pigtails happened to glance up from her phone long enough to observe the moment.

"I can't tell you some things," Thompson sputtered, his face red with embarrassment. Wendy grinned.

"Dare! Dare! Dare!" the others chanted. Wendy chuckled to herself. Three years since the Pines twins had come to town for the first time, her group was still going strong. Dipper and Mabel had really been initiated into the teenage crowd just this summer. Wendy thought Robbie and Dipper wouldn't get along, but Dipper didn't really come to many of the parties. Wendy was noticing that he liked to hang out with her separately.

Mabel had started joining in more, though. She fit in surprisingly well, due to her amazing ability to do what the boys did, only better, and her outgoing personality. Wendy had thought Robbie might complain about Mabel, but surprisingly enough, not a word had come out of his mouth.

Thompson finally croaked, "All right, dare, whatever!"

"Ooh, ooh! Throw Tambry's phone across the room!" Mabel cried, at the same time Robbie said, "Dude, you should totally take Tambry's phone and chuck it."

"Yeah," everyone joined in before Mabel and Robbie could react to each other.

Thompson gulped and grabbed Tambry's phone, tossing it weakly against a wall. Tambry shot him a death glare as he slunk miserably back to his place.

"Awesome," Wendy enthused. "Killer moment, guys. Who's next?"

Tambry wasted no time retrieving her precious cell phone. Running her finger along the new tiny crack on the cover, she said, "Isn't it Mabel's turn?" Tambry was not in a good mood now and wanted someone else embarrassed.

"So, what should we ask her?" Robbie eyed Mabel with a playful smile.

"Who's she got a crush on today?" Tambry broke a record, speaking twice in one night. Robbie blushed.

"Well, maybe not that," he stuttered.

"Ooh!" The gang turned on Robbie and Mabel, nudging each other and shining flashlights on the two discomforted faces.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Who do you like?" Lee asked.

"Uh…" Mabel faltered.

"Truth or dare! Truth or dare!" The shouts rattled the windows. Mabel bit her lip.

"Dare," she said quietly. Eyebrows raised.

"Robbie! She likes Robbie!" Thompson, who apparently hadn't quite mastered the game, blurted out. Mabel sank to the floor. Robbie made a move toward Thompson.

"What? It was only a guess, dude," Thompson muttered. Wendy pushed him back into his seat.

"Not now, Thompson." Looking at her two friends, something devilish in Wendy decided to make the situation worse. "But since Thompson 'guessed', I think Mabel's dare should be to kiss Robbie!"

Whoops and catcalls filled the room, drowning out Mabel's weak protests. Finally, everyone quieted, except for the whisper-chants of, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Mabel walked over to Robbie. When he didn't get up, she shot him a could-you-at-least-make-this-easier scowl. Robbie rose awkwardly.

Mabel wished he would lean in a little, but it had been her dare, after all. So, she took his shoulders and kissed him full on the lips as everyone cheered and Tambry's cell phone camera snapped.

She hadn't wanted to kiss Robbie for the first time to fulfill a dare, and she was scared to death of what his reaction would be. Mabel was hoping with all her might that he wouldn't pull back or push her away. But the best she had hoped for was that he'd stand there like a stick figure.

Instead, his arms encircled her, holding her firmly against him for a few seconds. The cheers gave way to a few mutters of, "dude, I don't even know how to respond to that," and an "aw," from Wendy's side of the room. Robbie realized what he was doing then and dropped his arms. Mabel broke away from him with a gasp.

The teenagers applauded enthusiastically. Wendy smiled. Tambry pressed the buttons on her phone. Mabel and Robbie avoided eye contact for the rest of the night.

* * *

Mabel was relieved when the party wound down a little. Pulling her jacket from the wall, she hurried for the door, hoping to leave early while no one was paying attention to her.

"Of all the lame, embarrassing, stupid things…" She stopped and looked around. "Uh-oh. I smell teenage angst and body spray." Mabel walked a little faster.

"Don't do that, okay?" Robbie took her arm. "I want to talk to you."

"Just don't," Mabel snapped. "What's there to talk about?" Robbie started to answer, but Mabel wasn't listening.

"I just didn't want to tell who it was," she added, her voice catching a little. "It wasn't necessarily that I liked _you_, or anything. It was only a guess. Who I'm interested in is none of the other's business, or the Internet's for that matter…why do we play these idiot games, anyway?"

Robbie shrugged. "I guess it's the way we grew up," he replied. "Look, Mabel, they were wrong to tease, and sometimes, Thompson just needs to shut up." He walked around in front of her, forcing her to stop and face him.

"You do realize, they weren't just after you," he added. Mabel slowly looked up at him. Robbie sighed. He'd better say it now; if he didn't, he might never get another chance. "I mean, if, say, a biker…tough guy… was in love with a girl three years younger than he was, those guys in there would jump on it as soon as they had the chance."

"Well, if a girl who likes pink was in love with an angry, dark, biker kid, it wouldn't exactly be the best thing for her, either," Mabel flared. She started to walk around Robbie, but he moved with her.

"We gotta blend," he whispered into her ear. She nodded.

"If that scenario you just mentioned was true, they'd have to compromise," she said. Mabel looked into Robbie's eyes pointedly.

"It was only a guess, though," Mabel murmured.

Robbie kissed her again, surprising her with the sudden steadiness of his lips on hers. By the time they finished, they were breathing hard, startled at how good pushing against each other could feel. Robbie untangled her hair from his hand and put his arm around her shoulders again.

"It was only their guess," he said. "We already know."

Mabel smiled at him. Robbie felt the world melt away.

"Come on," he said. "Let's get you home." Mabel, as usual, was right on cue.

"Before people start guessing."

* * *

_**And, there you have it, folks. You know, this ship isn't all that bad, when you think about it. Now, I have a bunch of ships waiting to be written, so here's an overview of what's next, in the order people reviewed and asked for it:**_

_**1. My next request is from a guest (that rhymes :D) who asked me for MabelxGideon. Soo, yeah, I said any ship, but…you do realize that MabelxGideon is what should NOT happen in Gravity Falls, right? That would basically mean that the bad guys would WIN. And, the bad guys winning was depressing enough in the cliffhanger for the season 1 finale. But, since you requested it, I'll…um, think of something, I'm sure. (Watch me hilariously torture myself :P...I have no idea what I'll write.)**_

_**2. A MabelxMermando story request from Bonito88 (Guest) where Mermando watches "The Little Mermaid." I must admit, the last time I actually saw that movie was when I was, like, seven. I know, I know, as a true Disney Princess era chick, I must update my movie collection. Even "Snow White" and "Beauty and the Beast" are still on VCR tapes. Ugh; I am old! Anyway, I'll look up the plotline of the movie and get that one written.**_

_**3. A MabelxNate marshmallow, requested by Jelly Beans. That's a nice, challenging, far-out pairing. Sure, I'll write it.**_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Here's the next one on the list. I warn you, it's a little darker :)**_

* * *

_5. Sinking Deeper (MabelxGideon)_

She sat on her bed, running the hairbrush through her limp, lackluster curls over and over again. Her head was turned carefully away from the triangular window. She'd made the mistake of looking through it yesterday.

So this was how it worked when the wrong side won. Mabel knew one thing: She didn't like it. She hated to see evil people display their true colors. It frightened her to know what they were capable of.

The journals had come together, as far as she knew, a super weapon had been forged, and Bill had immediately, effortlessly destroyed it. One blow had wiped out every ray of hope that Gravity Falls ever had. Of course, Bill and Gideon had teamed up, and the rest of the town had suffered. In the end, there was nothing left except dust, death, and desolation that no child should have been allowed to see. The little girl alone upstairs with the hairbrush had nothing to do except reflect on the madness that had occurred last week. She was afraid, for the first time in her life, of losing her sanity. Mind games could only go so far to distract her.

She'd been playing out the same scenario in her head for three days now-when Gideon wasn't in, of course. He'd been discussing something with Bill, leaving Mabel alone now that he was certain she was his. There was no point in running; Bill was always watching. She knew he would be much worse than Gideon if he caught her trying to leave. So, she sat alone, brushing her hair and pretending she was a princess locked away in the tower, waiting for her prince to come and find her. The age-old idea had become so scripted in her mind that it seemed real now. She had played that game with Dipper before. Dipper would come and rescue her soon.

She physically slapped herself across the face for thinking such a thing. The blow stung her cheek, but would barely leave a mark. She wished one slap could kill her; she'd have died long ago if that were possible. It didn't matter. Nothing did, but she could not think about Dipper. Dipper was dead. She had seen it happen. Mabel lowered her hairbrush, and silent tears streaked across her face.

The door creaked open, and Mabel started. She already knew who it was; no one else was allowed in the house. She hoped Gideon would turn around and walk right back outside. There was no one she hated more; she didn't want to see him. He killed her brother, but after that, he had proved to be so good at comforting her one moment and taunting her the next that she ended up sobbing on his shoulder. The thought still made her shudder, but to repel him meant incurring his wrath. She struggled with her expression, making her face emotionless, unreadable. It was the one way to get by.

She'd known Gideon was her enemy. She hadn't known how capable a foe he really was. They'd all underestimated him, but she paid the highest price. She was in his captivity. The others were all mercifully dead.

Maybe he'd go. He'd only been inside for a few minutes each day since Bill took over Gravity Falls. Not that those few minutes hadn't been even more eye-opening to his character. She'd discovered, for example, that he liked to throw things when he was angry. He had a good aim, too for someone his size. She had the bruises to prove it.

"Good news," Gideon said shortly as he stalked inside. Mabel closed her eyes. She already was dreading whatever he was about to say. He walked over to her and grabbed her hands.

"Don't you want to know what it is?" he demanded. Mabel shrugged, not daring to tell him no. Apparently satisfied, he let go of her and began.

"We're moving to Bill's dimension," he announced. Mabel's eyes widened. Gideon paced around the room, explaining, ignoring her shock. "I asked him," he continued. "He said we could come, since he promised me a kingdom and there's nothing for us here anymore." For a moment, the boy looked confused, as if the massacre in his hometown had touched on his mind, but the moment didn't last long. Mabel remembered something she had heard once from one of the journals.

"You can't live in a mind demon's dimension unless you're a mind demon yourself," she whispered, loud enough for Gideon to hear. There was silence. She realized what that silence meant and stared at him in horror.

"Won't it be great? Bill says he'll train us himself. It'll take a few years to get all the knowledge down and switch to alternate forms, but Bill is willing to do it. He could use some help. The universe is an awful big place, after all," Gideon went on cheerily. He reached out and lifted Mabel's chin, forcing her to look at him. "I'll be all powerful, and besides, we can truly be together forever. You and me, for all eternity."

He went on, but Mabel didn't hear him. She pulled her hair over her face and stared at the bedspread, wanting to scream, cause a riot, make someone take her out of there, but knowing there was no one to save her. She let the understanding that there was no choice wash over her. Little by little, her mind began to make up reasons that she had to still live.

Perhaps it was better this way. All her friends were dead, and the grief would be gone once she stepped into Bill's dimension. Of course, she would have supernatural abilities of her own. Maybe, if she worked with Bill, he'd allow her more power than Gideon. Then she could force the psychic to leave her alone. She could win Bill over to her side easily. She knew how to listen when she really wanted to and had always been able to charm almost anyone with her witticisms and appearance, knowingly or not. She had mastered the art of being a suck up ninja.

"Mabel!" Gideon's harsh voice broke through her desperate thoughts. She looked up. He had his journal in his hand and was standing by the door. "Come on. We're leaving."

She frowned. Wouldn't they need to pack first? He read her mind.

"We won't need anything related to humans in Bill's dimension," he added impatiently. "Hurry up. It takes a while to get there."

Numbly, Mabel followed him. Knowing what was waiting for her outside: The sight of the obliterated town and a dark swirling portal, brought tears to her eyes. Strangely, that made her walk a little faster. She couldn't protest this new life, so she had to look forward to it. It was what she had always done. She had given similar advice to Dipper before.

To justify her reasoning, she forced herself to remember what happened one more time. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on that last day.

_Screams_. The whole town was screaming incoherently, Dipper had been tugging on her arm, screaming about finding Wendy dead somewhere after a frantic search for her; everyone had been running around shouting and shrieking in terror. Mabel was running away from where Stan had been murdered and hadn't been listening to Dipper. She didn't want to hear about more death. She thought she yelled back at her distraught twin that she didn't care, that it was everyone for himself. She saw the pain and disbelief in his eyes.

He'd fallen onto her suddenly, blood pouring out of a hole in his chest. She'd looked up to see Bill. What was left of the town went quiet.

Bill claimed victory and left Gravity Falls with Gideon in charge for a while. He said something about conquering other dimensions now that there were no journals or weapons in his way. The secrets had been annihilated. There was no going back; no more new discoveries; no hope. Dipper had died before Mabel could tell him she was sorry. It wasn't fair. It hurt.

Mabel faced the portal, blocking the good memories she had left from Planet Earth. There would be no pain in the other world, after a while. She wouldn't care about anything. She'd be free, in a way. It was time to let go of human emotions and sink deeper into the new darkness. It was time to embrace the evil, let it consume her.

Mabel stepped up to the portal, closed her eyes, and walked with Gideon into the black smoke. Enemies forever, both of them sinking deeper into a mind demon's spell. As the last light faded behind her, she practiced a twisted smirk.

This was the way it should be. She had convinced herself. Her bitter, mindless destiny was waiting to swallow her up, make her forgotten to the world, and she was content to let it.

* * *

_**I don't know; I have to update less now. The weekend has gone, and with it, my extra writing time :( Besides, thinking up this one was tough. I know my portrayal of that pairing was depressing, but considering all the bad endings associated with Gideon getting what he wants, I just could not write them happy.**_

_**Anyway, now that I've spread some general trauma, (you can't have all the fun, guest reviewers who requested joke pairings ;) I'm going into Sweater Town, but not before I add another MaBill pairing and a MabelxThe-boy-with-the-rigged-note to the list.**_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


	6. Chapter 6

_6. Part of one World (MabelxMermando)_

* * *

Stan Pines could usually tell when his niece and nephew were up to something, and that evening was no exception. As Dipper and Mabel pushed their chairs backward halfway through supper, he cleared his throat.

"All right, what's the deal, here? It's normal for you two to skip out on work all day, but I've never seen you turn down a good meal," Stan pointed out.

"Oh, it's nothing!" Mabel dragged the words out and then giggled for twenty seconds straight.

"Yeah. Mabel and I are just going out to work on a little project," Dipper added. He reached over and pinched his sister on the arm.

"Ow!" Mabel yelped, but she stopped bouncing up and down.

"So, can we go?" Dipper asked innocently. Stan eyed the twins distrustfully.

"We'll be back before bedtime." Mabel widened her eyes imploringly. Stan groaned.

"Oh, fine! If I don't let you out, I'll never hear the end of it tonight," he gave in. Dipper and Mabel raced out the door and into the property around the Mystery Shack.

Mabel rushed over to the wheelbarrow leaning against the totem pole. "Are you sure we've got everything?" she asked, lifting up a coil of wire from the wheelbarrow.

"Yes. Just don't tangle the equipment." Dipper shook his head. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this, Mabel."

"What? If this works, it'll be a dream-come-true for Mermando," Mabel reminded her brother. "Besides, Ariel has red hair, like Wendy! Smile!" Dipper rolled his eyes, but a smile crept onto his face anyway.

"You're smiling," Mabel said, proud of her persuasion skills.

"It better work," Dipper muttered. "After that five miles we drove with a golf cart and a water cooler from the lake to the pool…"

"It'll be fun," Mabel chirped, skipping ahead of her brother. "I haven't seen Mermando in a year. Besides, it's the perfect time. That weird guy in charge of the pool is on vacation."

"Mr. Pool Check could still pop in at any time," Dipper reminded his sister. "He's insane."

"Well, I do have Wendy assigned to look out duty," Mabel mentioned.

"What! You didn't tell me Wendy was going to be at the pool!" Dipper suddenly made frantic efforts to smooth his thick, unruly hair.

"Too late," his sister shouted, skipping through the open gate. Wendy walked out from nearby and helped Dipper with the cables, running them toward an old, dusty, large TV screen.

Satisfied that Dipper was busy, Mabel bent down and peered into the still blue water. The surface rippled, and Mermando popped up.

"Ah! You cane back," he greeted Mabel.

"You knew I would," she replied. "You're going to love this movie. It's about a mermaid who wants to leave the sea and meet humans."

Mermando raised his eyebrows, clearly interested. "And does the wish ever come true?"

"We'll find out if Dipper can plug the cable into that old outlet that always shoots out sparks in the pool supply shed and get the TV working," Mabel answered. She turned her head as a pained yelp from Dipper split the still air. "Yep. It'll probably work any minute now," she assured her crush unconcernedly.

The TV screen showed static, and then, slowly, the opening scenes. Mermando watched, enraptured, as three sea gulls glided out from the misty white clouds.

"And so, it begins," Mabel whispered.

"It was worth coming back to the confines of the pool," Mermando whispered back. "These-movies-they are wonders of technology." He jumped suddenly, splashing water with his tail, as the huge ship appeared.

"Invaders!" Mermando shouted as Mabel laughed.

"It's okay," she calmed him. "It's just a movie."

"It looks so real," Mermando replied. Mabel slipped her hand into his comfortingly.

After he became used to the TV screen, Mermando found himself wrapped in the storyline. He nearly lost his voice himself calling to the redheaded mermaid not to trust the sea-witch. Mabel finally explained to him that the characters couldn't hear him.

By the end of the movie, Mermando was cheering and Mabel was lying by the edge of the pool. The merman had many questions about the plotline, the television, and the curious treasures that the little mermaid had inside her cave.

"That was wonderful!" Mermando enthused. "I have never heard such music. Although, contrary to the movie, crabs cannot sing." Mabel's eyes widened.

"Wha-what?" she stammered.

"You didn't know that?" Mermando asked confusedly.

"I always thought they could." Mabel's eyes pooled, and she retreated into her sweater. "One of my childhood beliefs, destroyed!"

"You seemed so knowledgeable in the area of myths in movies," Mermando added.

"Oh, never mind." Mabel sighed and stood slowly, stretching. Her legs gave out unexpectedly from sitting still so long, and she fell into the pool with a little shriek.

As she broke through the surface and sank a bit more underwater, Mabel looked around, catching flashes of the concrete walls, the submerged jets, and the bubbles floating to the surface. She floated for a second, thankful that she hadn't breathed in the chlorinated water as she fell. The burning sensation up her nose was absent.

Mabel blinked into Mermando's brown eyes as he pulled her to the surface. His arm had wrapped around her waist, and she felt the rough scales of his fish tail against her legs for a moment. Then, she was sitting, soaked and gasping, on the side of the pool again.

"Are you all right?" Mermando asked her. Mabel shook herself and studied her sparkly sweater sadly.

"I'm fine, but I don't think this kind of fabric is meant for water," she replied, spreading the fabric out. "I guess I should have put something different on."

"I really identify with Ariel," Mermando said thoughtfully, patting Mabel's soaked sweater absently. Mabel shrugged.

"From what I can see, your world doesn't look too bad," she murmured.

"We have to deal with fishermen, hide from humans, and avoid large sharks every day," Mermando reminded her.

"I guess, but isn't it beautiful down there?" Mabel countered.

"I suppose so," Mermando conceded. Mabel sat thoughtfully for a minute.

"Hey, technically, you aren't even supposed to exist," she said.

"Humans should not exist either, if you read our old legends," Mermando told her. "However, they made themselves known to our ancestors with their fishing boats soon enough."

"Well, I think we're pretty lucky," Mabel decided. "We're both part of the same world, really. The same planet holds the land and the sea."

"You are right! We are fortunate that we have met and share a connection," Mermando agreed.

"Who knew such deep discussions could come from a kid's movie?" a lightly sarcastic voice rang out from behind Mabel. Wendy walked out of the shadows with Dipper right behind her. "I see you went swimming. You okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah. Where have you two been all night?" Mabel inquired.

"I wasn't about to stay for this," Wendy scoffed. "Dipper and I may or may not have been out on the town for the last hour and a half."

"So much for lookouts," Mabel muttered.

"We went to refill the water cooler in the back of the golf cart," Dipper added. "Mabel, don't you think we ought to get Mermando home before the pool opens tomorrow?"

Mabel sighed. "Yeah, we'd better." Dipper backed the golf cart up to the side of the pool.

"When can we do this again?" Mabel asked as Mermando managed to flop into the cooler.

"I can only swim down here once every summer. Better wait until next year," Mermando replied.

"I'll be fourteen then," Mabel protested, climbing up into the front seat of the golf cart beside her brother. "That's high school, Mermando! That's old."

"I'll remember if you do," Mermando promised.

"I won't forget." The two leaned in.

"Guys!" Dipper protested. Mabel and Mermando rolled their eyes.

* * *

"I'll send you more bottles," Mermando said to Mabel as Dipper backed up near the lake. The twins jumped out and helped their Spanish friend push himself out of the golf cart. With a cackle of thanks in Dolphin, he swam steadily away. Mabel waved until he was out of sight.

"Next year," Mabel whispered. Dipper flung his arm around her shoulders.

"It'll go by quickly," he said. "Anyway, at least you have someone." He turned away suddenly and climbed into the golf cart. "Come on; we have to go if we're going to make it home before dark."

"I'm coming," Mabel replied. She stepped closer to the bank, watching the sun sink slowly into the pale-blue water.

"You know what's nice about falling for a merman?" Mabel bent down to run her hand along the surface of the lake. "You can feel closer to him just by touching water." Dipper looked back at her and smiled slightly as he turned the key in the golf cart. Mabel jumped in, her sweater still dripping a bit on the plastic seat.

It didn't matter how far apart they were, or how ludicrous their whimsical relationship seemed. They were part of one world, which was a comfort, and they'd be together again. It was an important discovery. Mabel glanced at her watch, leaned over, and pushed her twin lightly.

"So, Dipper, how do _you_ think we should explain the fact that we stayed out until midnight to Grunkle Stan?"

"What? The sun has barely set!" Dipper cried.

"I know, right! Gravity Falls is so strange! Symbols and journals, mysteries and mermen…" Mabel laughed and leaned back as Dipper sped up the golf cart, muttering under his breath.

Gravity Falls was one world of its own. It was a place where anything was possible. Mabel Pines knew one thing: She liked it that way.

* * *

_**Yes, I even managed to find the opening scenes of "The Little Mermaid", and I have "Part of Your World" memorized once again now. Ah, memories :D**_

_**Guys, I just realized something. I have other chapter stories that I need to work on, much as I've grown to like these one-shots. So, I'm going to complete the three other requests that I have, which are MabelxNate, MaBill, and MabelxThe-boy-with-the-rigged note, and then take a break from these one-shots for a while. You can still leave requests, and I'll take care of them once I have a little more written on my full-length stories. Thanks, everybody.**_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**This one-shot is loosely based on this song: ******__watch?v=asOQolzLCU0 (Song by Taylor Swift)_ It should be the first one that comes up. I couldn't include lyrics because I don't want anyone pouncing on me.

* * *

_7. All Things That Shine (MabelxNate)_

* * *

"So, why'd you and Wendy break up?"

Nate Holt let go of Mabel's hand, drawing a sharp breath. The silence hung heavy in the midsummer air. The sixteen-year-old girl directed her gaze at the ground.

A question about a past girlfriend that Nate didn't think she knew about was probably not the best thing to blurt out during one of those lazy, meandering, we-have-no-clue-where-we're-going walks. Things were going well so far with her boyfriend of one month, and Mabel didn't want to change that. However, the question had been nagging at her mind ever since last night, when she'd remembered something that Wendy had said years ago.

_"Wendy…You've broken up with guys, right?"_

_ "Oh, yeah. Russ Storum, Eli Hall…Nate Holt, ugh, that guy with the tattoos…"_ Mabel had been too upset over something else at the time to pay attention to what Wendy was actually saying, and had forgotten most of the list as the years went by. Yesterday, though, a stream of stray memories had run through her mind, and that little moment with Wendy had been one of them. Suddenly, that unimportant name had become crystal clear. She knew without a doubt that Wendy had said "Nate."

Mabel hadn't been able to push the recollection away for two very good reasons. First of all, Nate was a tattooed biker who, just four years ago, was sticking rubber spiders in her face and pulling her hair. Nate had been in Robbie's band and teased and tormented the twins quite a bit through several summers to please Robbie. The last two years had become increasingly different, but a few of Nate's pranks had hit hard back then.

Then, too, Nate had a reputation as a "bad boy" that rivaled Robbie's. He was a heartbreaker, before he and Mabel had become an item, of course. Overall, Mabel trusted him, and the headstrong "I'll date whoever I want" streak that had always lived in her prevailed. Sometimes, though, the dire predictions of everyone around her raised doubts. Now, realizing that Nate had been involved with a close friend brought several awkward questions to mind, like why Wendy had broken up with Nate in the first place.

Great. Now there was silence and mistrust rising faster than gravity on both sides. Nate was obviously wondering how much Mabel knew and what exactly Wendy had said to her. Mabel felt like walking off onto a side street or disappearing into an alley and calling Nate back tomorrow.

"How'd you know about that?" Nate finally spoke. Mabel hesitated, searching for the right words. With Nate, it was never a good idea to toss a poorly formed, silly sentence around. He took everything seriously.

"Nate, I didn't mean…well, I asked Wendy for advice a long time ago, and we got into what boys she'd broken up with," Mabel explained sheepishly. "I just happened to think of it; I was curious, and…" She trailed off as Nate planted himself in front of her, his arms crossed.

"How long has _that_ been on your mind?" he demanded.

"Uh, maybe since you _left_ me alone last night, so I had time to _think_, and Dipper said he saw you with that…_Pacifica_ on his way home from Wendy's, and what were you doing last night that was so important, anyway?" Mabel snapped. Nate stared at her, his jaw working.

Silence. It was really getting around this evening.

Nate reached into his pocket and shoved a small box into Mabel's hand. "I wanted to get you this," he muttered.

Mabel opened the box to find a shiny heart necklace on a chain. She looked up at Nate, confused. He started walking again, so she followed him, trotting to keep up.

"I don't understand," Mabel stammered.

"Do you ever try? I know you hate my music, but you could at least try to get me," he threw at her over his shoulder. Mabel winced. Time to backpedal.

"I want to understand," she said softly. "Please, Nate, I'm sorry…"

Nate turned again, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Mabel, if anything is ever going to work out with us, you have to trust me," he declared. "Is this because of something your brother said about me, again?"

"I know you're trying to be patient with Dipper and Grunkle Stan and everybody," Mabel replied.

"Just like you don't care about whatever Robbie and my crew call us," Nate put in.

"It's not about them. I get worried sometimes." Mabel kicked at a piece of the broken concrete sidewalk.

"And maybe I deserve that. I told you, I'm not going to let you down." Nate walked sideways, trying to see his girlfriend's face. "Let me explain about Pacifica," he added.

"No, Nate, it's okay. You don't have to," Mabel quickly attempted.

"It's not okay if it's bothering you." Nate stepped onto a dirt path. Mabel looked back to see the last building of Gravity Falls. They had wandered onto the edge of the woods.

The two climbed a small hill overlooking the town. From there, the bridge, the water tower that Robbie had scribbled his explosion on, even the star on top of the tent of telepathy and the strange weathervane atop the Mystery Shack were visible. It all looked like one big picture, strangely unified even with the enmity that tortured the tiny town.

Nate and Mabel had run into each other there last month, when the sparks between them had begun. They hadn't known that spot belonged to both of them. It was there that they'd agreed for the first time about something: The beautiful view, and had promised to work out their differences.

"Pacifica's mother knows jewelry," Nate told Mabel once they were sitting cross-legged on the emerald-green grass, looking down at Gravity Falls. "I knew your birthday was coming up, so I was asking her about a couple of necklaces I saw down at the new jewelry store. Pacifica just showed up."

Mabel hid her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, Nate," she said again.

"So, about Wendy…" Nate ripped up a handful of grass and tossed it over the hill. Mabel waited, her heart beating faster in spite of herself. "We went out for a couple of weeks. It was just for laughs." He paused. "Anyway, Robbie wasn't cool with it, so…"

"Robbie was the reason you and Wendy broke up?" Mabel questioned. Nate shrugged.

"Robbie wouldn't say so," he said. "But, yeah. He ended up dealing me more practice time on the drums. He said if I wasn't good enough, he'd kick me out of the band. Wendy didn't appreciate the time I was spending in practice. I guess it was a good thing that we weren't serious yet. Anyway, Wendy and I never would have worked."

"Are you sure?" Mabel asked. "I don't want to take you away from a friend."

Nate chuckled. "That was years ago, Mabel. I'm happy with what I have now, and I would never want that to change." He patted her hand awkwardly, as if Mabel would crack at the slightest touch. "So, we done arguing now?"

Mabel grinned and elbowed him lightly. "Why are we arguing in front of a view like this?" she quoted. The couple smiled at the inside joke.

The two of them ended up lingering on the hilltop for far longer than they should have been out, watching the sun go down over Gravity Falls. Mabel rested her head on Nate's shoulder, studying his intricate tattoos out of the corner of her eye. She hadn't realized how meaningful they were until she'd cared enough to let him explain them to her. Now, she was starting to like them. She'd never admit it to Nate, but she had defiantly told Grunkle Stan just the other day that his tattoos were like art.

"I should have believed you. They never do," she said minutes later, half-asleep. "I'm done throwing rocks at things that shine. I hope I didn't hurt your feelings."

Nate grinned. "Nah," he said. "Your aim stinks." Mabel smiled as Nate kissed her forehead. She snuggled into him, her soft lavender sweater rubbing against the skull on his black shirt.

The last thing she heard before she drifted off to sleep was Nate's half-annoyed, "But you gotta stop referencing those lyrics to me, girlfriend."

* * *

_**Yep. Mabel gets used to his tattoos; he gets used to her referencing :P I think she'd be a Swiftie or Directioner or something like that and they'd argue about music.**_

_**Okay, so another MaBill is next. Yay! I'm starting to like that ship…a lot. Anyway, keep on falling, fallers.**_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


	8. Chapter 8

_8. Goodnight, Shooting Star (MaBill)_

* * *

He was enraged. Utterly enraged, unstoppably vengeful, and downright terrifying while he was at it. The mortals were usually the ones to tremble at his anger. This very night, he'd showed up to harass the "mystery twins", as most of that pathetic town he'd been watching called Pine Tree and his miserable female counterpart, Shooting Star.

His eye darkened, wandering furiously over the dreamscape. The surreal surface of Bill's home, the paper walls, the doors of air, rippled as his eye studied them. Bill Cipher could see anything he wanted to see and go anywhere he wanted to go.

Right now, he was attempting to cheer himself up, pat himself on the back, do _anything_ to remove that pitiful image from his mind. That wasn't likely to happen, however. He was a mind demon. He knew every secret that ever existed and every occurrence in the universe. And with all his powers, he couldn't forget one distasteful memory.

Bill swirled his cane around as he floated through the imitation of a mortal's door. He knew those twins had opened a portal. He even knew where it was located, but he had not gone to take advantage of the power yet. The basement of the Mystery Shack was a place that even he hesitated to go. There was good reason for that; someone had almost beaten him there a long time ago.

He had decided to go about it another way. He knew that Pine Tree tended to fall apart when Shooting Star was scared or hurt. The human emotion called love made for quite a vulnerability, especially when the twins had just been arguing, and therefore, feeling guilty. A glance through the woods at the right time made the teenagers easy to target.

Bill had appeared out of the black. Transporting a young girl to his realm hadn't been easy; every triangular inch of him was still aching. He'd thought it was a good plan, though. Pine Tree would willingly take him to the portal if he had Shooting Star. Bill's own reaction to the little mishap on the way had caused him to think again, however.

He'd been dragging her along behind him with his power, shooting at her annoying twin who was trailing determinedly along, and trying to create a portal back to the dreamscape. It hadn't really given him time to look where he was shooting.

Bill sent a ball of energy right into her shoulder; luckily, she'd twisted so it missed her heart. It had burned orange through her blue sweater and charred the skin on her arm. He'd swiveled his eye just in time to see it happen.

Bill Cipher was responsible for all natural disasters for the last five hundred years; he'd plotted the courses of battles; after all, it was his ancestors who had helped Alexander the Great conquer the world. He'd killed, he'd pillaged, he'd starved mortals before, all for his sick amusement. He'd watched them murder, ravage, and slander each other to their graves. What he didn't understand was the simple horror he'd felt when a tear from Shooting Star's eye fell onto her burn, leaving him with the sour memory of sizzling skin and a drop of steam.

A human's pain, for the first time, had deeply moved him. No one had to know, of course. Shooting Star hadn't noticed, and no one would find out that she was sound asleep in a hammock made of giant spider's webs, properly bandaged and calmed. His family didn't know that he'd waited patiently for her to arrive in Gravity Falls that first summer. No one would know that she was one of the chosen simply because he'd watched her as a child, thought that in a world of seemingly dull, cloned individuals, there was no one quite like her, and felt a connection to her. The other demons thought that she was in the wheel simply because of her relation to Pine Tree.

Bill had often wondered what he would do if Shooting Star was seriously hurt. Now, he knew. For all his bravado, he would throw the world away to keep her alive. He was furious with himself for allowing this to happen to her, and furious with himself for caring, especially because he knew she would heal. Her vigorous, continual name calling while he wrapped bandages around her meant that she was fine.

Shooting Star reminded him very much of what he used to be, thousands of years ago before he had uncovered that ancient spell and become a mind demon. Bill passed the golden mirror in his lair and hesitated for a moment. He didn't dare; he didn't want to. But he touched the glass just the same.

The mirror depicted billows of smoke that cleared away, revealing a fresh-faced young man behind the glass. Silently, the mind demon touched the forehead of the image. It disappeared from the mirror, and in another instant, the young man was standing in front of the dresser.

"William C." Bill muttered, clenching and unclenching the young man's fists. It had been decades since he had used his carefully preserved human form. The mortal body was just a puppet now, like all the rest of them. Bill was theoretically emotionless, so William C. could never feel a thing, either. Still, the awkward clay tower proved useful in times like these, when Bill wanted to break the rules.

Showing physical feeling was one of the oldest taboos in the history of his relatives. But William C. was a much likely to be watched than Bill Cipher. What the mind demons did in their human forms was usually overlooked. Some still used them regularly to mix with mortals. Bill considered going back into a frame that could decay much too crude, normally. But tonight was special.

William C. walked toward Mabel-he could call her Mabel in the human's body. William would have cared about her, Bill knew. The boy had been far too weak in that area; a quality like Dipper's protectiveness, when one thought about it.

William stroked the long brown hair back, looked around, and kissed the girl's cheek. "Good night, Shooting Star," he whispered.

She stirred gently, the spider webs weaving into her locks. Gently, awkwardly, as one who needed practice with his hands, William brushed them away. Something wet slid down his cheek, and he jumped, wiping furiously at his face. Finally, his hand swiped across the tear.

A nasty, degrading human tear, Bill thought, turning away from Shooting Star. Already, in William's body, he was showing human traits. What a disgrace. She had done this to him.

Oh, well. It didn't matter. Pine Tree would be sure to show up tomorrow, and he could give the boy his sister back, take the power from the portal, and be done with both of them. Bill slid out of his past shell and returned William to the mirror. Just before the smoke enveloped William, he thought he saw a flash of accusation in the young man's eyes.

It couldn't be, of course. William was long gone; Bill had taken over now. The mind demon turned in a circle, admiring his realm, his castle full of whatever he cared to imagine at the moment, and the girl in the corner, sleeping in an ironic kind of peacefulness.

It almost seemed like a twisted kind of fairytale where neither the heroes nor the villain ended up with what they really wanted. Bill set his cane on the dresser and watched the girl in his mirror. If the ending was fated to be an ironic win for him, at least right now, she was his and no one else's. He would send her safely to Pine Tree when everything was over and he left to conquer other worlds. He had already decided that. She would be of no use to him then, and…she wouldn't want to stay, no matter how much he wished she would.

A sigh arose from the silken sheets as Mabel stirred gently. Bill picked up his cane, hovered over her, and waved the tip of the cane in a circle over her head. She quieted, and Bill's bow tie of a mouth twitched into something suspiciously reminiscent of a smile. He floated away quickly, however. He had mortals to watch.

"Good night, Shooting Star," he whispered again as he took up his everlasting vigil.

* * *

_**Okay, as I said earlier, this story will be returned to after I return to some of my longer ones. The last one on the list is MabelxThe-boy-with-the-rigged-note.**_

_**To Maddog (Guest): Nope, you're good. When I come back to this story, I'll handle that request. It might be a while, though :P**_

_**To Interesting (Guest): No, I'm afraid I'm a bit too set in the way of Wendipper to write any other Dipper ships. I mean, I could probably write DipperxPacifica, but the DipperxCandy or any other ships aren't really up my ally.**_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


	9. Chapter 9

_9. All Three (MabelxThe-boy-with-the-rigged-note)_

* * *

They were good friends. That was the silent understanding they'd had down through the summers. Scotty's parents were chronically affected with road-trip-to-the-middle-of-nowhere syndrome, and somehow, their bad sense of direction and even worse luck always brought them to the Mystery Shack. There, they'd stop, stretch their legs, and grudgingly pick up a map.

The first summer Scotty had met up with Mabel Pines was the second year his family had stopped at the Mystery Shack. As his parents argued with the proprietor of the strange gift shop, Scotty had wandered over to the counter. Suddenly, someone slipped a piece of paper under his nose. He carefully picked up the pink, glittery note that spoke straight to the heart of the matter:

"Do you like me?" The three boxes below the question left no room for a polite denial. He might have even been as enthusiastic as the note coerced him to be if he'd known who had pushed the paper toward him. Besides, he felt nervous. At twelve years old, he had certainly never experienced anything like this.

Scotty craned his neck to peek behind the counter and caught sight of two twinkling brown eyes. A musical giggle and a whisper of, "I rigged it!" issued from the strange girl's hiding place. Scotty would have liked to see more of her, although he wasn't at all sure what he would say to her.

At any rate, another young voice said, "Mabel," and the face disappeared. Scotty McKellar never forgot what he'd seen of her, or her name, strangely enough. And next year, when his family stopped by the shack again, he even approached her. His voice cracking a bit, he said shyly, "I think your name's Mabel."

She had no idea who he was. During the later years, it became a joke between them, as the gray mini-van pulled up and she pretended not to recognize it. A couple of years later, they decided that one afternoon out of a whole year simply wasn't enough to visit, and persuaded Scotty's parents to spend a summer in Gravity Falls. Scotty grew to be great friends with the twins. Dipper particularly liked to have another serious person around, and Scotty particularly liked to get involved in Mabel's silly dreams and schemes.

He hadn't realized that a friendship with Mabel and Dipper meant that he would be involved in the conspiracies of an entire town. Soon enough, however that fact was made clear to him. Scotty faithfully helped Dipper battle monsters, learned to decipher cryptograms, watched out for Bill, and told a certain psychic to stay away from Mabel several times.

After all the memories they'd shared, this was his last summer before college. Scott couldn't believe how quickly the time had flown away. As his car pulled up to the shack one last time, he swallowed a lump in his throat and walked through the door. Offering the tall girl at the counter a smile, he silently handed her a note.

_Would you like to be my girlfriend? _Mabel looked up from the pink, sparkly paper with their "traditional" three choices and raised an eyebrow.

"Pink?" she asked, a smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

"Hey, I'm only returning the favor," Scott responded. Mabel took a pen from her pocket, as if she had anticipated the moment, and swiftly marked the note. Scott placed his hand on hers as she slid it back across the counter to him.

"Which box did you check?" he inquired. Mabel lifted his hand off the note.

"Yes, definitely, and absolutely," Scotty read. Mabel dipped her head with a childish giggle.

"All three."

That was more than enough for him.

* * *

_**And, that was the last one before I put this silly little idea to rest for a while. I finally have time to go back to my chapter stories. I just couldn't focus on a long, coordinated plot because of all the things I've had to do this month. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, requested, and read. I will come back to this story later!**_

_**:3,**_

_**Laptop**_


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